Offer in the Snow
by CrossRow
Summary: It wasn't just the pearls that made her go with him. Post TDKR Bat & Cat.


**Offer in the Snow**

**All characters belong to Christopher Nolan and DC Comics**

**I do own any of these characters**

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"This is stupid." Selina Kyle digressed, sitting on the saddle of the Batpod. Silhouettes of buildings captured the slant of gray light while shrouded the walls of fallen snow. Her leather gloved fingers rubbed over the controls as she paused in thought, recollection with her mortals as strands of her sleek, long mahogany hair twirled in the frosty air. She became caught in a division of choice, not allowing herself to become consistent with the direction of her goals to finally grasp the freedom she wanted.

The cold and manipulative woman she had always known herself to be was slowly dissolving underneath the layers of ice. She felt pieces of her wounded spirit breaking like a shattered mirror, jaded pieces slicing through the walls of her murky soul.

There was an escape from her regrets, no more living under society's laws and fighting her battles. She had finally received an opening to freedom.

Her dark coffee eyes entrapped the shafts of light piercing through the slate, snow clouds flowing over the city. Her full scarlet lips became firm, she waited with patience, allowing the tension and doubt to seep through her. Allowing the guilt and regrets to dissolve in her cold flesh and hollow bones.

She put her beliefs in the realism of the world. Everything for her was impermanent, breakable and easy to rake off. Underneath her layers of skin, and fiercely perseverance, her heart was the only thing being real to her. It had been her strength through many storms—giving her younger self motivation for survival—procuring essentials, clothing and shelter. It was also a fragile organ, that was easily cracked when she made deals with the devils, unveiled her true cold nature to good people whom she rendered as suckers. Nothing could fill the void that ate away her ever since she witness her mother being beaten alive and her drunken father drowning himself in his own regrets.

She was fiercely independent. Defining her methods of a survival and her own soul with the totem of a cat. A symbol of strength,. Cats also represent stoic, silent, mysterious guardians. She embraced that symbol, taking in the resourcefulness and the flexibility of adapting in a world of salvaging her own life by having the ability of being astute and turning against one's advantage of using her crafty skills of getting what she wanted.

Then she was cornered by a man who finally gave her a chance of unveiling the true woman underneath the cat. She never in her dreams thought she would another world hidden within a soul of a man who embraced the symbol of the cat. He was resourceful with her own methods of surviving, mysterious with guarded emotions that were not so easy to decode. He also allowed himself to become an illusion of dread that searched for the searched for the ignorance of his prey and the derived of understanding the truth of humanity.

While she traveled the world of seeking the meaning of redemption, she fell upon the mystic wisdom of animal symbolism in the Tibetan mountains, discovered each meaning behind the totems of an animal and learned how people embraced those symbols through actions, will and love.

A cat beckons humanity through its power of being an aloof illusionist to grasp the understanding of truth with a man turns within his own heart, mind and soul and trusts himself when the truth really matters.

Selina embraced the symbol of the cat, became the one that held the Bruce Wayne's heart and gave him a chance to live beyond the darkness of his own regrets. Without her by his side, helping him survive the days of emotional and physical pain, there would be no Bruce Wayne.

They are survivors through a dark intestinal world of despair.

They had their demons to fight and both conceived an economic need of power in different methods that they used when roaming the streets of Gotham at night, and somehow, whether through fate of faith they discovered the need of each other and also learn how to trust in the hope which help them break the shackles dragging them in into the cold and lonely divisions that suck them in a black hole that wouldn't be so easy to climb out of.

At first everything felt foreign to Selina as he became oddly optimistic about Bruce's methods and skills of protecting the streets of Gotham.

When she stole the pearl necklace from him, Bruce became intrigued by her brazen demeanor and instantly compelled to unmask her. He discovered through circumstances and research about her heist that she was a thief who loved to play by her own rules. Being a well guarded man, Bruce easily saw her hidden agendas not realizing that she gave him something to believe in after all those years of trusting the wrong circles of people, failing good friends and losing himself into his own disbelief that hope was still out there. His glimmer of hope was inside of a woman behind the Cat.

After of the suffering, redemption and sacrifice, Selina discovered that he became indeed her equal partner, soul mate and endearing lover. Yes, they had differences beyond reason, but she saw beyond his dark stare and unlocked the true man that he was afraid to unmask to anyone.

She wanted to become his anchor when the nightmares raged in the night, a strong foundation to build a life and someone who would stand with him when all his dreams and friends will fade. She wanted to become his compass, guiding him back to the present when he ventured back into the past. He became her escape from a gray shaded world where the devils roamed.

Now, the dream was dead. Her last hope, to love was now a ghost of a flickering memory. Last moment they shared together, was a brief slice through time. His warm lips moved against her own as she kissed him hard and tenderly, not wanting to let him go, but she no choice when she listened to his beckon for release. Maybe there was a chance, she will see him again… Even if it was in her dreams.

Then something unexpected happened, the same pearl necklace, the symbol of their hidden love landed on her lap. She furrowed her brow with confusion and clutched the string of flawless white orbs in her hand, holding them close to her thumping chest. She parted her lips, breath froze as she felt piercing hazel eyes stare down at her.

"They look better on you, Ms. Kyle." A familiar voice spoke, deep and haunting.

Her lips trembled and eyes instantly shot up as she searched for his shadow. "He doesn't exist." she growled down her disbelief. Her sharp eyes drifted to a corner ledge of a roof, and then her heart thumped to a complete halt-making her jolt with shock.

Standing on the cement, long black cape billowing in the wind, the unmasked hero of Gotham stood, cowl tucked under his gauntlet arm and beautifully shaped mouth curved into a delicate smile. She smirked, indifferent and spoke with a raised voice. "Well, are you coming down or are you making me come up, Mr. Wayne?"

"We both know that won't happen, Ms. Kyle." He answered her, hazel eyes shimmering like liquid gold. He watched Selina roll her eyes, and then jumped down, his cape folded over his torso as he landed, smacking his boots on the snow dusted cement. He walked closer to her.

He lifted his defiant chin up, smirking, "Oh, you don't look happy to see me."

"You're suppose to be dead." she shot back, crossing her arms over her slender chest. She slid her lithe frame off the saddle of the Bat pod, leaning her curves against the controls, with ankles crossed.

"Sorry to disappoint. " He replied, lips stretching into an infectious grin. Drenched tendrils hung over his eyes as he looked intently at her, with crescents of sunlight entrapped within the darkness of his gaze. She kept her body rigid and eyes focused on the pearl necklace.

"I have a sense that the pearls aren't for free." she said with firmness in her voice, glaring at him with inscrutable dark brown eyes. She drew out a sharp exhale, "Alright, Wayne," she said with an edge in her voice. "What's your price?"

"A plane ticket." he answered, voice strained and hoarse. His eyes became changeless as he inched closer, she defenses rose."Freedom."

"Is that everything?" she asked, keeping her semblance cold. She stiffened her red lips, as he found an opening and infiltrated deep, underneath the layers of her frozen shell. Her lips quirked up as she narrowed her gaze at the splotch of red staining his armor. "Let me guess, this is a one time offer?"

He nodded, "Yes." he said with a rich tone. "It expires soon. I need an answer, Ms. Kyle."

She narrowed her head, drawing out a shaky exhale, "What's the destination for this little plane ride, Mr. Wayne?"

He treaded closer, hazel eyes shining with acceptance. "Look, Selina Kyle," he began with a growl ragging out his raw throat. "I have many options in partners to choose from across the world, but none of them are like you. I'm choosing you because you know the real me without the mask." He dropped his gaze at the cowl tucked in his arm. His eyes became chasms of sincerity. I know there's more to you, Selina."

"Don't remind me," she felt the urge to roll her eyes at him, but instead she looked down at the cowl. She felt like publishing herself for allowing him to get close. Her muscles ached with trepidation. He began to inch closer and she fought to take a step back. "There's nothing to know."

This seemed to amuse him a little, edges of his lips slacking up. "Maybe I want to know more." he replied, throwing down the mask to her boots.

"What?" she asked with a hint of growl raging in her throat, her walls building back up. "I think you're pushing your limits too far, rich boy."

"I'm willing to push some if there's a reasonable outcome."

Selina stiffened her jaw, pursing her lips and dropped her gaze to the blood oozing from his right side. "Well, I think you've pushed enough limits for today, Mr. Wayne."

He was a breath away. His fierce hazel eyes stared her down. She felt the pulsing of her jugular vein beat faster as her traitorous heart throbbed deep into her rib cage.

"Not all of them, Miss Kyle." Bruce took a brazen step, invaded her space and wrapped his gauntlet forearm around her trim waist and pulled her close, before she could maneuver an escape. He coiled his glove hand around her neck and captured her lips in a fierce kiss. His fingers threaded through her silky hair as she tasted the melting savor of his watering mouth seep down her throat. His lips chilled only for a moment as the softness of his moist tongue grazed over her teeth, and when he deepened into the kiss, she allowed him, moaning down his throat as his mask dropped to the ground. She coiled her arms around his neck, pressing her fingers over his jugular vein, feeling the heated blood pound against her hands. It was reminder that she wasn't dreaming, he was real to touch. She felt his lips roll over her own, plunging himself deeper as she pressed hard against his body until his own heart beat met the same rhythm as hers. She snapped out of the lust-driven moment, stepping back and separating herself from him.

"Why did you come back?" she asked, voice haze with conviction. "I'm not the type of girl for happy endings." He stepped closer as she heard him whisper a deep and rasp growl as his breath ghosted over her jaw.

"If you want to have a new beginning, Selina Kyle. Meet me at the place where one of your paintings came from near the vanity."

He covered her lips with a gentle chaste kiss.

Selina opened her eyes only to find that he was… Gone.

She tentatively brushed her finger over her bottom lip and breathed out one single word,

"Florence?"


End file.
